Henry Scarsbrook "Harry" Langhorne (November 3, 1790 – December 16, 1854) was an American landowner and farmer.
Early life
Langhorne was born November 3, 1790, at "Gambell", the family ancestral home in
Warwick County, Virginia. Henry was the youngest of five children of John Scarsbrook Langhorne and Elizabeth Langhorne, first cousins who had married in 1782, which was customary at the time to retain family wealth. Gambell had been built in 1675 by the original Langhorne family immigrant, John Langhorne. who emigrated from
Bristol,
England.[1] The colonial homestead strategically situated between
the Mariners' Lake and the
James River was destroyed by fire in 1818, and the land is now home to the
Mariners' Museum in
Newport News.[2]
Career
Although he was first seated on some of the
Cumberland County, Virginia, lands that he had inherited through his mother, he quickly resolved to move to
Lynchburg with his brother Maurice. An active and keen agriculturist, the planting of tobacco was no longer as profitable as it had once been, and after an early venture at the Farm Mills in Amherst was ruined by flood in 1826, brothers Henry and Maurice erected Lynchburg Milling Co. flour mill, also known as Langhorne Mills, which was built in 1831.[3] He never abandoned planting though, and continued to buy numerous plantations in Bedford, Campbell and Amherst Counties. Also in 1826, Henry appraised the
Poplar Forest estate of Thomas Jefferson.[4]
In 1845, he retired and relocated to "Cloverdale", the 3,500-acre Botetourt County plantation he had just purchased from his niece's husband
George Plater Tayloe of
Buena Vista. He continued to purchase smaller tracts and at the time of his death, he owned a total of 3,892 acres.[5] Langhorne's Mill would be used by the
Red Cross as a makeshift hospital to treat injured confederate soldiers during the
American Civil War.[citation needed]
Personal life
Langhorne was married twice and between his two wives, he was the father of thirteen children. His first marriage, in 1816, was to Frances Callaway Steptoe (1798–1832), the highly sought after daughter of Hon. James Steptoe (a close friend of
Thomas Jefferson) and Frances Callaway of "
Federal Hill". Beginning in 1828, Henry lived at
Point of Honor, an historic mansion overlooking Blackwater Creek in Lynchburg. Together, Henry and Frances were the parents of the following children:
John Scarsbrook Langhorne (1817–1886), who married Sarah Elizabeth Dabney of "Edgemont", a great-granddaughter of
William Randolph II of "Chatesworth".
William Maurice Langhorne (1818-1900), never married
Elizabeth Johnston Langhorne (1821-1888), who married James Callaway Hunt (1811-1870) [2]
James Steptoe Langhorne (1822–1905), who married Elizabeth Rachel Omohundro (1825–1915).[2]
Henry Scarsbrooke Langhorne (ca.1825-1853, who died unmarried.[2]
Sarah Massie (Sallie) Langhorne (1826-1881, never married
Thomas Nelson Langhorne (1828–1889), who married Orra Henderson Moore Gray (1841–1904),[2] a writer.[6][7]
Frances (Fanny) Steptoe Langhorne (1829-1889), who died unmarried.[2]
After the death of his first wife in 1832, Langhorne remarried in 1833 to Anne Eliza Scott (1800–1870), the daughter of Charles Scott of
Buckingham County, Virginia.[2] Together, they were the parents of:[8]
Charles Scott Langhorne (1836–1896), who married Katherine Page Waller (1840–1920).[9]
George Washington Langhorne (1839–1905), who married Nannie (
née Armistead) Langhorne.[11]
Anne Scott Langhorne (1840–1920), who married Maurice Scarsbrooke Langhorne (1823–1908).[12]
Mary Catherine Langhorne (1845–1924), who did not marry and became a "schoolmistress."[13]
Henry Langhorne died on December 16, 1854, in
Fincastle in
Botetourt County, Virginia, and was buried at the Callaway-Steptoe Cemetery,
New London in
Bedford County, Virginia. His eldest son John inherited Langhorne Mills, along with the bulk of his father's estate. His son James was given the 13,000-acre "Langdale" plantation located near the border of North Carolina.[citation needed]
References
^Langhorne, James Callaway (2013). The Virginia Langhornes. Lynchburg, Virginia: Blackwell Press.
ISBN978-1-938205-10-1.